Vampires Will Never Hurt You
by Olivia Dunham
Summary: I wasn't sure what was more frightening. The fact that he was looking at me like he wanted to eat me, or the fact that he told me I was supposed to die.
1. Between Dreams and Reality

_I was ninety nine percent positive I was dreaming for two reasons._

_One, I was standing in front of my parents - my mother with her curtain of auburn hair and amazing blue eyes, my dad next to her with his arm wrapped around her, his blonde hair messy as ever and eyes glinting a soft green. The only problem was the fact that they had been dead for almost three years._

_The second reason was because I was standing barefoot in the middle of a forest clearing, wearing a dress. The dress was a deep, almost blood red - the sort of dress you saw in pictures of old Hollywood on the women who loved to flaunt just how much money they really had. It's silky rich fabric made my milky, almost translucent skin stand out even more in the moonlight shining down from the full moon almost directly above my head._

_Something glittering to my right caught my attention, my head turning only to find a pair of bright, golden eyes glinting at me in the darkness between two large trees. I took a step back instinctively, the grass wet from dew between my toes. The eyes blinked, staring directly at me as if taking in my appearance. The creature who the eyes belonged to was obviously contemplating it's next move. I was hoping it wouldn't eat me - then again, it was a dream, so it probably would end up eating me, only for me to wake up in my own bed. Either way, I wasn't going to go down with a fight._

_Then, the creature moved. It emerged from the trees; it's movements flawless as I made out what type of animal it was. Or at least, I was pretty sure it was an animal._

_It was light gray, almost silvery in color. It was easily the size of a full-grown horse, it's legs long and slender. It sat down at the edge of the trees, eyes still trained on me. I started as the apparent wolf let out a long, very loud howl, creating goose bumps along my arms. A cool breeze blew, whipping my hair about my face and causing it to sting my cheeks._

_Then it began toward me._

_It's movements were quick, so I barely had time to react. I turned and bolted out of the clearing, crashing through the trees. I tripped, stumbling over the twigs and rocks along the forest floor, as well as the hem of the stupid dress. Branches and leaves tore at my face and arms, creating long scratched. I ran harder, faster, anything to get away from the creature. But no matter how fast I ran, it was still right behind me, snapping at my heels._

_Suddenly, I fell forward on my face as I finally tripped over the hem of the dress, flailing my arms in an attempt to catch myself. The breath was knocked out of me as I landed hard on the ground, a rock digging into my lower back through the dress. I winced and pushed myself up onto my elbows. The wolf was at my feet, sitting, waiting, and watching, as if daring me to make a move._

_I didn't._

_Frozen to my place on the ground, I didn't dare move, for fear the wolf would lunge and tear my leg off. Even if it was a dream, it would probably still hurt like hell. I winced slightly at the thought._

_The wolf's gaze switched after a brief second to something behind me that I could see. My heart was pounding deep in my chest, hitting against my ribcage in fear. My adrenaline was running high, and I felt like my head was going to explode. I wanted to scream, cry, and run all at the same time, but I remained frozen to my place on the ground. Just let me wake up. Let me wake up. Let me wake up. I repeated to myself in my head in a chant, my eyes shut tight._

_Something cold snaked around my waist and for a moment, I thought it was a snake. My eyes snapped open, looking down to see a pair of arms wrapped tightly around me. The arms lifted me up, away from the wolf, and the next thing I knew, I was flying._

_Or at least, it felt like it._

_Everything around me was suddenly blurred in one black, green, and brown streak. The cold arms were now against my back and under my knees, their owner carrying me at an inhuman speed through the forest. I looked up, and a horrifying scream escaped my lips._

_The man carrying me was faceless._

_Nothing but a pale slate of marble-like skin greeted me when I looked at him. If you could even call it a him. It was more of an it. Yet, he had saved me from the wolf, which was now crashing through the trees a long way back, it's silvery form following after us as quickly as possible._

_I shut my eyes._

When I opened them, it was morning, the sunlight streaming through the window and falling across my bed. I groaned the second I realized it was a Monday, and I had to go to school. Wrapping myself in my blankets, I had full intentions of going back to sleep. However, that was obviously not going to happen with the series of events that happened next.

My bedroom door burst open, slamming back against the wall and even causing some of the pictures on my wall to rattle and my bedside lamp to shake. There was the sound of footsteps pounding across the carpet toward my bed. There was silence for a moment, then something rather heavy landed dead center on my stomach, causing me to jerk up and twist out from under the object.

Groggily, I stared at the object until my focus became clear. I sighed, realizing it was my little cousin Claire, still dressed in her pajama's and her dark blonde curls still in a frizzy, bed head mess. I shook my head and sighed again - she was always way too hyper for mornings, unlike me, who absolutely detested mornings. I wouldn't have to put up with them for much longer though. I was a senior in high school, with only two months left of school.

"Daddy says get up!" She grinned, bounding off my bed and out of my bedroom. Figuring I'd better get up before Logan came up here himself - which wasn't pretty; he usually gets a glass of water and dumps it on my head to wake me up - I rolled out of bed and onto my feet, still half-asleep.

My stomach aching from where Claire had done her Spider-Man leap onto it, I grabbed my school uniform and headed into the bathroom. The uniforms my school had were hideous - dark blue skirts and a white button up shirt with a dark blue tie and jacket to go along with it. They were required of all the students in my school district - a rule that had implied before I had gotten here.

I gazed at my reflection in the mirror as I brushed out the tangles in my auburn colored hair, simply throwing it up into a ponytail to keep it out of my face during the school day - which I wasn't looking forward to. I never looked forward to Mondays. Green eyes gazed around the bathroom, looking for my hairclip - then I realized Claire had it. Rolling my eyes, I headed downstairs, the smell of pancakes wafting through the house and teasing my nose. Logan was already up and cooking my favorite breakfast - he had to be the best uncle in the world.

I had been put into the care of my Uncle Logan when I was in my Sophomore year. I had, up until then; lived in the sunny, warm state of California in San Diego with both of my parents. They had gone to dinner with the neighbors, leaving me at home to baby-sit the neighbor's two twin boys - who were just little infants then. At about midnight, I found myself facing a policeman at the door, telling me my parents had died in a car crash, my neighbors were in critical condition, and my Uncle had been called to come out and take me to his house. According to my parents will, I was supposed to be in his care anyway. Logan had instantly taken me back to Kentucky, to his little town of Warsaw. I had lived here for almost three years now - and frankly, was getting sick and tired of my boring life.

Sighing, I made my presence known in the kitchen. Logan glanced up from his position at the stove, gesturing to the stack of pancakes at one of the chairs.

"There you go kiddo." He grinned and I tried to smile back, but a yawn stopped me. He just shook his head with an eye roll, going back to cooking Claire's usual chocolate chip pancakes. I preferred mine plain, with plenty of syrup and butter spread out across the top.

After forcing down most of the pancakes, I raked the rest in the trash bin and placed my plate in the sink, reminding myself to do dishes when I got home from school. Logan wouldn't be here; He had to go to work. He owned a small resteraunt just outside of town called Stardust, where he also worked as chef. Part of why he was able to cook amazing meals at home too - always an advantage.

Claire usually took the bus to school, so I didn't have to drive her - thankfully. Waving to her and kissing Logan on the cheek goodbye, I grabbed my messenger bag at the foot of the stairs that held my schoolbooks and notebooks before grabbing my keys off the peg and heading out the front door. Jogging down the little path to the driveway, I tossed my bag in the passenger's seat of the little green Honda that was my car and climbed in the driver's seat myself, mentally preparing myself for another Monday at school.

Oh yay.

The drive to school took all of ten minutes, not including the small amount of traffic. The town of Warsaw was small - your usual small town where everyone knew who you were whether you wanted to know them or not. I pulled into the parking lot and into my assigned parking space between an old station wagon and a large pick-up truck in the shade of bright red. I stepped out of the car and grabbed my bag, heading for the school building ahead. Well, the side. Students were required to park in the side parking lot on the opposite side of the building where the teachers parked.

The side of the building looked even better than the front in my opinion. Blue metal picnic tables lined the stone path to the doors where seniors could come outside and eat lunch if they chose to. Students mingled out here before school, but I chose to head straight inside, with plans of getting through today with as little trouble as possible. I dodged a football that was being thrown, and silently moved past the group of preps, texting away – secretly I hoped their polished little fingers would fall off.

As you entered the building through the side, to the left was the two level gym - well, it was really only one level, but it had a second level sort of like a balcony that wrapped around the top with extra bleachers to seat extra students or guests in case there wasn't enough room in the bleachers on the first level.

To the right was the cafeteria, which you had to go through to get to the main part of the building with the classrooms. Two whole walls were made of glass, one of the glass walls facing outside, the other facing the hallway. Round tables that seated up to eight or more dotted the area, where some students were sitting, mingling and eating breakfast. Some students were making their ways through the halls toward classrooms, wanting to get early starts.

I was one of those people.

My first class was the only one I looked forward to everyday - World History. I had a thing for historical things, whether it was artifacts or an actual person. The Victorian Era was always my favorite, but I enjoyed the other periods as well.

Sighing, I took my seat in the middle of the room in the decrepit desk. My school funding was rather low, so we didn't have all that fancy smanchy stuff other schools had. But at least we had desks, secondhand textbooks and all the important stuff. I pulled out my history textbook and a notebook, prepared to take notes if needed. The stragglers of the class began to file in, about two seconds before the bell ring. My gaze was too focused on the doodles I was now making on a corner of my notebook to notice the new student that walked in very last, approaching the desk.

".... Glad to have you in class Mr. Weston. Why don't you take a seat next to Miss. Taylor?"

However, my head jerked up when Mr. Lewis mentioned my name. I looked at him for the briefest of moments, then my eyes locked with the new student. I had to force back the gasp that threatened to escape my lips.

He stood at about 5'8, dwarfing Mr. Lewis' 5'2 frame. His skin was deathly pale, as if he had just woken up from being dead. His hair was a shaggy, messy, jet-black in color, contrasting against the color of his skin and his eyes. His eyes were a deep blue, reminding me of sapphires, but as he walked closer to me to take his seat, I noticed that there were strangely a few flecks of red in them. He looked as if he had leapt off the page from the history textbook, on the period of Greek History and the Gods they worshiped. His gaze switched to the dry-erase board up front where Mr. Lewis was beginning to write down note we were supposed to be taking. Forcing myself to look away, I flipped open my notebook and began to write in my chicken scratch that I called writing.

So far, History was the only class I had the mysterious Mr. Weston in. I hadn't learned his first name, but by the way the whispers about the new kid were flying through the halls, I figured his name would get to me soon enough. At lunch, he sat alone at a table in the corner of the cafeteria, and didn't eat. I tried hard not to look at him and I attempted to engross myself in the conversation I was having with my friend Vanessa, her boyfriend Kyle, and my best friend in the world, Will. However, I felt his gaze on the back of my neck, causing the hairs there to stand on end.

"Something wrong Abby?"

I turned; pulling myself from my thoughts as I realized Will was speaking to me. I shook my head. Will had been my best friend since I had moved here - his dad worked with Logan at the restaurant as a bartender, so we had met through them. He was extremely nice, and not exactly the worst looking guy. Lightly tanned skin made his dark eyes stand out even more behind his thick lashes, which always made him look like he was wearing eyeliner. I always teased him about it. His hair was rather long and shaggy in the shade of dark brown. He looked like he belonged in a place like Arizona with his 6'3 height and rather large muscles - yet he was here in Warsaw, being my best friend.

The moment I walked into gym class, I groaned, remembering we were due to start dance. Dancing was something our gym teacher was required to teach as well as the regular sports, since we had no dance class or anything along the lines of it. And then, I saw him again, instantly knowing who was going to end up being his partner.

I was always the one who ended up without a partner in the sports, so I knew he was going to end up being my partner.

Awesome.

I dumped my bag on the first row of bleachers along with everyone else's, moving to join where they were all sitting on the gym floor in front of Coach Carter - who also served as dance teacher. I sat between Vanessa and Will, remaining silent as everyone else chattered around us. I was waiting for my name to be called.

"Miss. Taylor!"

I sighed and stood, walking over to where Coach Carter was standing with the Greek God, who was staring at me.

"Yeah?"

"This is Nicolas Weston. He's new, so you'll be his dance partner this unit."

Again, awesome.

My attention turned to him and I gave him the best smile I could manage. He replied with a dazzling, almost blinding smile of his own.

We began walking back toward the group, the chattering turning into whispering as we approached, sitting down on the hard, gym wood floor.

"All right!" Coach Carter called for silence and all attention turned to him. "We're starting with ballroom and working up to hip-hop and modern -."

There was a collective groan.

"Look - I don't like it much either, so the faster you learn, the better. But we're starting with the waltz today - anyone want to demonstrate?"

Silence.

No hands were raised.

"We'll dance."

WHAT?!

As Nicolas stood, I stared, slightly open mouthed at him.

"I can't dance!" I hissed as I followed him toward the center of the gym. He just smiled and extended a hand.

Hesitating, I took it.

And suddenly, I wasn't standing in the gym anymore.

Around me, things blurred until I was standing underneath a large maple tree at the top of a hill. The sun was high in the sky, the tree creating a nice-cool, shade from the heat.

I was wearing a Victorian dress - what was with all the dresses? - with plenty of lace and frill. It was white and I made a face, as it was heavy and felt like I had a corset on underneath, making my breathing hard.

And I was confused as hell. What was going on?

Then suddenly, Nicolas was beside me, my hand in his. he wore a Victorian tuxedo, his pale skin standing out and almost matching my dress color.

I was confused as hell. What was going on?

He said something, but I couldn't hear him no matter how hard I tried. Although, I did hear him saying my name.

"...Abigail..."

I shut my eyes, just listening to his velvet tone saying my name. My fingertips began to tingle, traveling in my hand and up my arms.

My eyes snapped open as I heard my name shouted. Taking a deep gasp of air as if I had been holding my breath, I realized I was staring at the high ceiling of the gym. Nearly everyone was gathered around me, staring as if wondering if I was dead.

Coach Carter was the one directly above me, looking at me a face of concern.

"Can you hear me Abigail?"

I nodded and pushed myself into a sitting position, slightly dizzy and out of breath. I exhaled slowly. The tips of my fingers tingled still.

"What happened?" I asked, slightly confused.

"You stood up and passed out. Let's get you to the nurse."

"No! I mean, I'm fine. Just stood too fast, that's all." I muttered, any excuse to keep me from going to the nurse - and having to call Logan, who'd throw a fit.

Coach Carter looked at me skeptically.

"I'm fine, really."

"Abigail...." He warned. "At least go so they can check you out to make sure you're completely all right. You hit the floor pretty hard."

"I'll take her to the nurse."

I looked up at the voice, surprised to see Nicolas, looking slightly flustered - if not livid.

"You know where it is?"

He nodded.

I moved to get up, but Nicolas bent down, slipping his arms under my back and knees, straightening up with me in his arms. My head spun slightly, so I was actually glad he was carrying me, except that he was carrying me to the nurse. I didn't like doctors, even in the nurse form.

He carried me from the gym, through the cafeteria, and up to the front office where the nurse's office was located. It earned a few funny looks from students and teachers, but I didn't care - an extremely good-looking, Greek God was carrying me. I just ignored them.

He set me back down on the bed in the nurse's office before taking a seat in the chair. His gaze never left me, even as I looked everywhere else but at him.

The nurse entered a few moments later.

"What's the problem today?"

Before I could answer, Nicolas did.

"She passed out in gym class."

She jumped slightly, having not noticed him in the room before. Her gaze lingered on him for a moment before turning back to me.

Nicolas kept his smoldering eyes on me, even as the nurse asked me questions - which of course, he would end up answering for me, which made me frown. I was perfectly capable of speaking for myself, thanks.

"Well, it seems you're doing okay now, and you haven't go any injuries that I can find, so I'll let you go back to class. If you begin to feel light headed again, come see me, all right?"

I nodded and she left, allowing me to get to my feet and straightening my uniform.

"What class do you have next?" He suddenly asked as I made for the door.

"Chemistry." I replied and he nodded.

"So do I. If you'll allow it, I'll get your books from the gym and meet you there." He continued.

'Err...okay."

He flashed a smile and left the office quickly, me merely trailing behind as I headed upstairs to Chemistry with Ms. Morgan. The class was just starting when I slipped in - obviously the nurse had called ahead and informed that I would be late.

And somehow, Nicolas was already seated at one of the two-person desks, my messenger bag hanging on the chair beside of him. I took my seat, trying to figure out how in the hell he had gotten there before me.

We got through Chemistry without me passing out again - though Nicolas stopped me from adding a wrong chemical that would have caused an explosion. Though I felt as though it wasn't me getting up to quickly that made me pass out in gym, so I wasn't really paying attention to begin with.

I had felt perfectly fine until I had touched his hand. It almost made me want to touch him again, just to see what would happen. Though every time I came close to his hand touching mine, he would abruptly pull away.

I didn't see him the rest of the day until I headed out into the parking lot, where he was getting into a black Honda. He was talking on a cell phone as he did, and there was a look of anger on his face.

"Hey."

I glanced up from where I realized I'd been staring at him to find Will leaning against the hood of my truck. I frowned slightly and he chuckled.

"What?" I questioned.

"Are you sure you're okay from gym?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I replied, opening my door and tossing in my books, rolling down the window for the drive home. Leaning against the door, I turned my attention back to him. "What's up?"

"I was wondering if you'd meet me at the park down by the river later tonight? We haven't hung out in a while...." He said.

"I'd have to ask Logan, but you know he won't care as long as I bring Claire. That all right?"

"Yeah, that's fine. About seven-ish should be good." He grinned and wrapped me in a tight hug. Laughing, I clambered into my truck.

Logan didn't usually care that I went out, as long as I was back before midnight - so of course, when he came home and found me going out the door, he didn't complain. Just curiously asked me where I was going.

"Meeting Will." I replied, pausing, halfway pulling my keys out of my pocket.

"Be back by midnight."

"Always."

Then again, I had a secret feeling that Logan only let me go because I was meeting Will. Logan and Will's dad, Sam, always chatted like old married women, and I had the suspicious feeling that they both wanted Will and I to hook up - if the whispered between the two that stopped whenever we walked in the room, or the weird looks whenever they saw us together didn't give it away, it was the way neither cared if we stumbled in at four in the morning on a school night, as long as we were together.

Shaking my head, I pulled out of the driveway and turned out onto the road, heading for the park.

However, my mind was straying again. It was still on the strange new kid Nicolas. What was up with him? I hadn't heard of any houses for sale, or anyone new moving in anywhere, so it briefly made me wonder where he lived.

And the most puzzling to me was how he had made me faint.

But I tried not to focus on that as I pulled into the parking lot. Only one other car was in the lot, a slightly beat up Volvo, Will leaning against its hood.

I smiled.

"Hey Abby!"

"Hi, Will."

We began along out normal path, side by side, heading for the playground in the distance. Silence fell between us after the greetings, which wasn't usual.

"What do you think of that new kid?"

I looked at him, slightly taken aback.

"Err...he's okay I guess. He took me to the nurse after I fainted."

"You fainted?"

So then I ended up explaining the entire gym class incident.

"So he made you faint?" He asked, a slightly bitter tone to his voice.

"No! I mean - I dunno. It's not possible to make someone pass out just by touching them, right?"

Will hesitated.

"Right."

We sat down on the swings, simply moving back and forth. Will still seemed unusually quiet.

"Something wrong?" I finally asked, looking over at him.

"Nothing - just thinking."

"About what?"

"Oh...uh...I was thinking of asking you to go to prom with me."

I was so surprised, I slid backward off the swing. Will chuckled and helped me up. I dusted my jeans off as he sat back down.

"Well?" Will pressed. "Do you want to go with me?"

Prom was two months - well, a month and a half - away. I hadn't planned on going anyway, because I hadn't one to last year's prom. But Vanessa was head of the prom committee, and had been trying to persuade me to come, even alone if needed.

"You know, I hadn't really wanted to go." I said, choosing my words carefully and not looking at him, not wanting to see the look of the disappointment on his face.

"Are you sure Abs? I mean, we don't have to go as dates - just as friends..."

"No, I think I'll just stay home that night and watch reruns." I replied and he let out a small chuckle. Not wanting to sit in the awkward silence, I stood.

"I should et back. I promised to help Claire clean her room." I said, lying. He nodded, but I could sense the disappointment.

It almost broke my heart.

Almost.


	2. All Kinds of Chaos

"OKAY LISTEN UP! Abigail, move stage right – no, you're other right. Michael, move with her. Nicolas, go down left with Kyle and Amy. Vanessa, just a bit to your left and you'll be perfect…Good!"

I sighed, folding my arms across my chest as Mr. Jones ordered us around stage in Theatre class. He seemed as thought he was still ticked off from Chorus class, and just wanted to make it through the day – he _hated_ his Chorus class. We had already performed out end of the year play about a week ago, a version of Phantom of the Opera. Now we were just reviewing and such for out finals.

By practicing Romeo and Juliet.

My least favorite play.

And of course, I was stuck as Juliet.

My Romeo?

Michael, the kid next to me.

He wasn't all that ugly – cute actually. I had a crush on him when I had first moved it, but then he was ended up being a jerk.

But I still kinda liked him.

Even though my attention was focused on the God across stage from me, looking thoroughly bored, I tried to continue my lines. Nicolas was playing the part of Paris, and he held the script in his hand as if he already knew the lines.

"All right! Juliet, Paris, center stage please! Go from line three!" Mr. Jones ordered us.

At least it wasn't so bad.

I stepped forward with Nicolas, the script in my hands. We began to read – I stumbled over my lines, the Old English tripping me up. Of course, he said his flawlessly, without even looking at the script. I glanced down at mine again and suddenly; he was inches from my face. His breath tickled my face as his eyes stared directly into mine, as if he could read my mind or something else creepy. I barely registered that he had finished speaking.

"Abigail!"

I jumped and gasped, glancing down at my finger – I had cut it along the edge of the script and blood was now forming on the cut. I frowned slightly, looking up at Mr. Jones, who had shouted at me.

"Pay attention!"

When I turned back to Nicolas, he was storming off the edge of the stage, heading for the exit backstage. What the hell was his problem? Sighing, I walked back to my previous spot as Nurse and Lady Capulet began their scene.

As we waited for class to end, we all sat on the edge of the stage, feet dangling off the side as we chatted aimlessly. Nicolas still hadn't returned.

"Hey Abigail!" Michael greeted, flopping down beside me. "How's the finger?"

I laughed and held up the newly bandaged finger.

"All good."

"That's cool." He grinned. "So I was thinking of catching a movie in Florence on Saturday. Want to come with me?"

Were all the guys in this school playing some kind of joke by them all asking me out?

"Like a date?"

"I guess you could call it that. But some of my friends are going too." He shrugged.

"Er…okay then…" I muttered, not sure of what else to say. Did I just agree to a date with Michael? And his friends – but they didn't matter.

Well, at least it would get me out of planning prom with Vanessa, a task I absolutely dreaded.

When we were released from class, Vanessa approached, instantly launching into more stuff about prom. I inwardly groaned.

"I can't help this weekend. I'm going to the movies with Michael."

Vanessa grinned broadly.

"About time! You've had a crush on him for, like, ever!" She said quickly and I laughed.

"It's nothing special – calm down."

She just giggled, shaking her head.

The rest of the week seemed to fly by – Nicolas hadn't returned to school at all that week, which I found semi-odd. But when Saturday rolled around, Logan seemed determined to get my mind off things that morning at breakfast.

"I don't see why you don't want to go to prom with Will – Sam say's he real disappointed Abs."

"I'm not going to prom, so I'm not going to go with him when he can perfectly well go along with anyone else." I replied, taking another bite of cereal as Logan sat across from me, drinking coffee and flipping through the paper.

"Such a shame…."

"Give it a rest will ya?" I snapped. He raised an eyebrow at me.

"I wasn't talking about that. There's been several unsolved killings in Cincinnati, but it's nice to see you in such a great mood."

I spent most of the day finishing up the chemistry homework. Since I didn't know what time Michael was arriving, I began to pull on the skirt, legging, and the blouse I had picked out, before straitening my curls to at least where they were tame.

I had just come back downstairs, the purse I rarely used slung over my shoulder, when the doorbell rang. For once I managed to beat Claire to it. Playfully sticking my tongue out at her, I opened the door to find Michael waiting.

"Hey."

"Hey."

We stood there a moment in silence.

"Shall we go?"

"Yeah…. Logan! I'll be back in a little while!" I called to where he was in the kitchen – yes, he practically lived in there.

"Have fun!"  
I laughed and followed Michael out to his car – a gray Nissian Altima.

Soon, we were speeding out of Warsaw, taking the familiar route to Florence.

Michael reached down and turned the radio on, to where it was nothing more than background noise.

"So what's with that pale moron? The new kid or whatever? He just upped and left the other day. You stab him with something or what?"

I blinked. Nicolas was the last thing I wanted to talk about.

"No – I cut my finger on a script and when I looked up, he was storming out of the room." I replied.

"What a baby…."

"No he's not. You think maybe blood makes him sick?" I said as he sped further down the road. We had gotten there in record timing. He was pulling into the movie theatre parking lot when I realized two things.

His friends obviously weren't there.

And he was drunk.

I had wondered what the smell had been – it was his breath. God was I stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

The minute he pulled into the parking lot, I reached for the door, by somehow, even in his drunken stupor, managed to press the lock button that locked all four door before I could get it open. I fumbled, still trying to open it, but he grabbed my wrists, pinning them to my sides as his lips forcefully pressed against mine.

I jerked my head away, his breath nearly gagging me. My hand instinctively came up, the heel of my hand hitting him in the nose. Something cracked and blood began to literally pour out. Trying not to hurl my lunch up, I reached over and hit the door lock, unlocking the door and finally getting out of the car.

Ignoring Michael's cries of pain at his obvious broken nose, I stalked through the parking lot, so angry I could hardly see straight. How could he do this? I was never going out with that idiot again. I was still pissed at myself for not sensing it when he had first knocked on my door.

Unfortunately for me, I had no way home. My cell phone forgotten at home, I couldn't call Logan.

As I made to cross the road in the crosswalk, I heard the squealing of tires. Glancing up, I spotted Michael's Nissan barreling down the road toward me, intentionally speeding and aiming to hit me.

And I was too frozen with fear to move.

Then, I suddenly wasn't standing there anymore. The Nissian sped past the place I had been seconds before, nearly hitting the cars crossing in front of it.

I had somehow gotten to the concrete of the sidewalk, and I wondered for a moment how until I felt the cold hands gripping my arms.

"Are you okay?"

I whirled to the figure on the concrete behind me, my breath catching in my throat the moment I saw his pale face – it was creased with actual worry.

"Abigail. Are. You. All. Right?" He repeated, as I still hadn't answered. I nodded and he helped me to my feet. It wasn't until then that I realized I hadn't actually fainted from touching him, though suddenly my fingertips and lower arms were numb.

"Come on – I'll take you home." Nicolas murmured, taking me gently by the car. He pulled me to the Aston Martin parked on the curb. He opened the passenger door for me, then got in on the driver's side.

"So what did you do to tick off that boyfriend of yours?"

"He's not my boyfriend." I scowled, folding my arms across my chest. "And he was drunk – and a liar."

"Then it's a good thing I found you."

"Yeah, I guess…why haven't you been at school?" I asked quietly. It was funny – I felt safer riding with this almost stranger than I did with Michael.

"Sick." He replied quickly, almost defensively. I raised an eyebrow, but didn't question it – it wasn't my business really.

"How did you find me in Florence?" I asked after another beat of silence. This time, he didn't reply at all.

We drove the rest of the way back to Warsaw in silence, finally pulling up in front of my house.

"Thanks." I murmured, glancing over at him, but he was already out, opening my door for me.

"No problem." He said and flashed a perfect smile. I bounded up to the front door, not hearing the purring engine leave until I was inside and had locked the door.

"You're home early." Logan noted form his place in front of the television. Claire was obviously still asleep.

"Yeah – I left Michael at the movies."

"Why?"

"Don't want to talk about it."

"Abigail…"

"Logan."

He gave me a look, but I ignored him as I headed upstairs.

I ripped off my clothes and changed into the pair of shorts and t-shirt I used for pajamas before flopping down on my bed, wanting nothing more than to get a good night's sleep. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

And that night, I dreamt again.

_I stood in the same forest, same dress. The large wolf was in front of me again, looking rather frightening. And then, it did something weird. _

_It actually nudged the hand that was hanging against my side, almost like a dog that wanted to be petted. I cringed away, taking a step back, but it followed, nudging my hand again. Gingerly, I reached up and scratched it behind its ear as it sat on the ground. What the hell was going on? Seriously…._

_Just as it seemed to be relaxing, the wolf suddenly jerked up. I pulled away my hand, startled as it's haunches rose and a low growl escaped it's mouth. Something rustled in the trees behind me, and not two seconds later, a pair of icy arms was around me. I gulped, remembering the faceless man that had been in my last dream._

_"Abigail."_

_I whirled in his arms, running into a rock hard solid chest. I knew that voice. Oh God did I know that voice. I looked up, and my faceless man was no longer faceless._

_It was Nicolas._

_Except his eyes were blood red, instead of the blue they usually were._

_"You need to come with me." He was saying and began to pull me away from the Wolf. The Wolf let out a growl that turned into a howl, almost sad. I frowned, but before I knew it, Nicolas was carrying me again, running faster between the trees. And this time, I surprisingly wasn't scared. Even though I should have been._

I jerked awake as my alarm went off. Sitting up and yawning widely, I only realized it was Sunday, and I didn't have to get up. I groaned and made to crawl back under the blankets, but instead my cordless phone on the nightstand decided to ring. Muttering under my breath, I grabbed it and put it to my ear.

"Hello?"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"  
Vanessa's shrill voice on the other end actually forced me to pull the phone away from my ear. I groggily peered up at the calendar above my bed – I had completely forgot about it! It was April 24th, and at 10:27 in the morning – which was about four hours away – I would officially be eighteen.

"But anyway – come over at about two and we'll start cramming for the Bio test on Monday – Kay?"

Yawning, I nodded, until I realized I was on the phone.

"Yeah, sure." I mumbled sleepily. Without another word I hung up and flopped back down on my bed, snuggling back underneath the blankets.

My door was thrown open moments later.

What the hell? Were people in this house against me sleeping? I mean, really….

"Happy Birthday Abigail!' Logan grinned as he planted a tray on the edge of my bed. It was a plate of scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, and a glass of orange juice. Also on the tray was a tiny wrapped gift. I smiled at Logan groggily, and not wanting to offend him, I forced myself awake and pulled the tray toward me.

"Thanks."

"No problem Abs." He grinned and hugged me tightly. "Come to the resteraunt later."

"Why?" I asked curiously, stabbing a bite of eggs with my fork and popping them in my mouth.

"Just because." He said mysteriously. "About five should be good." He added before leaving my room, shutting the door behind him. I blinked after him for a moment, confused, but just shook my head and let it go. He was just such a weirdo sometimes.

After breakfast, I spent most of the Saturday in my room, sorting through emails from my old friends back in California who emailed me at least twenty times each day. After that, I finished my homework and grabbed a shower, getting dressed with just enough time to make it down to Stardust at five.

As I drove, I was absorbed in my thoughts, even though it probably wasn't the safest thing to be doing. My thoughts were mostly swirled around my recent dream. Nicolas was obviously my savior from the wolf, but I still had no idea what the dream meant. Was I going to get lost during prom – still in my dress – and some giant wolf attack me and Nicolas will save me? Heck if I knew.

Sighing, I turned into the parking lot of the resteraunt, turning the car off and pocketing my keys. I was still curious as to what the heck was going on, but I had the faintest idea I knew what it was.

Taking a deep breath, I pulled open the door, the little bell jingling overhead that signaled a customer had walked in.

"SURPRISE!"

People from every possible corner popped out of nowhere, and I took a step back in fake surprise. I had a feeling it was coming, but I wasn't going to let anyone know that I knew. Better to act surprised.

Logan pulled me into a tight hug and Vanessa approached me from the left, giggling.

"Happy Birthday Abigail!" They chorused and I laughed.

"Thanks you guys. Really."

But I didn't have time to say much else as I was pulled toward one of the tables that had my birthday cake on it. Of course, I knew Logan had made it, and I could instantly tell it was my favorite – an ice cream cake with loads of frosting, the words 'Happy Birthday Abby' written in blue frosting across the top. I resisted the urge to reach my finger toward it and swipe a bit of frosting.

Vanessa disappeared for a moment, but appeared a moment later with an armload of presents and I rolled my eyes. I had told them I hadn't wanted that much for my birthday, but apparently they hadn't listened. Then again, they never did.

One by one, I went through my presents, reading the cards and thanking whoever had gotten them for me. Mostly it was clothes, but besides that, a digital camera from Logan, a painted picture from Claire (this one made me laugh, because it was an attempted picture of her, Logan, and I), a gift card to Wal-Mart, and some money from the insides of the cards.

My mouth was watering for the cake, which had been taken away so it wouldn't melt, and I was about to open my mouth until Vanessa handed me a small, wrapped package. I hadn't noticed it on the table before. It was wrapped in silver with a matching bow, but it didn't have a name on it. I frowned and carefully opened it, half expecting it to be a joke.

Inside were a small white box and a note. Setting aside the box, I opened the note.

_Abigail,_

_Happy Birthday. Enjoy your present and I hope you like it. _

_Nicolas_

Surprised, I set the note aside where Vanessa instantly grabbed it to glance over it. I untied the ribbon around the box and opened it, thoroughly stunned at the gift inside.

It was a silver charm bracelet, with several charms already on it. I held it up to examine the charms: a carousel horse, a diamond heart, a silver flower, my birthstone (an aquamarine stone), and a snowflake. They glittered as the light hit them and I smiled, examining my new gift.

A pair of fingers snapped suddenly in front of my face and I was drawn out of my stupor as Logan brought my cake back out. Slipping on my new bracelet, I was very careful with it as I focused my attention on the cake.

It wasn't long before we had to leave. Well, Vanessa and I at least. We had promised Will we'd come over and study for the Biology finals on Monday, something I completely dreaded.

Did I ever mention how I hated driving in the rain? Yeah, I hate it. And it was raining as we were driving along the back roads around Warsaw that led to Will's house. Why he had to live back in the boonies completely dumbfounded me.

Vanessa turned on the radio as background noise as we drove along, her chatting slightly in my ear about all the stuff we had to do for finals and prom and bleh, bleh, bleh – I stopped listening after the word prom. I am very anti-prom. I tuned her out as best as I could, but the moment she screamed, my attention focused back to her.

"Abigail! WATCH OUT!"


	3. Hospitals Are Awkward

I barely had time to react – Vanessa pointed to a blonde man standing in the middle of the small country lane. I swerved quickly, but apparently too quick as the vehicle skidded sideways. My hands suddenly released on the steering wheel as the wheels left the pavement, my car flipping down the embankment. I couldn't tell you how many times we ended up flipping, but every time it hurt worse – at least I had enough sense to have buckled myself in. But the seatbelt was cutting into my skin tightly, and I was narrowly missing bonking my head on the ceiling of the car. I clung to my seat, eyes shut tightly.

And then, we came to a jerking halt.

It took me a moment to register that fact that I was in pain – a lot of pain, but I nearly screamed when I looked to my left. A thick tree branch was sticking out of the back of my seat, inches from where it could have impaled me. And then I realized we were upside down, because the blood was beginning to rush to my head.

"V-Vanessa." I choked out, glancing over. She wasn't responding, slumped against the seat.

It was then I realized she had a thick branch sticking out of her abdomen.

"No!" I screamed, and struggled to get free of pinning seatbelt, but it was stuck.

_"Abigail!"_

I froze at the voice, only reacting when I heard the crunching of footsteps and Nicolas's face appeared around the side of the car, appearing in my window – or where it had been. The glass was shattered, lying on the ground outside. I wondered for a moment why his face was upside down, and then I remember that I was the one upside down, not him. Some blood was rushing to my head, the rest of it bleeding out the long gash in my leg.

There was a horrible screech of metal before the driver's side door completely ripped off and his cold hands were at my waist, snapping the seatbelt off with ease. Among my confusion, I was sure I heard another set of footsteps. My thoughts were confirmed when I heard a female voice speak out from somewhere on the other side of the totaled car.

"Do you want me to get her body?"

Nicolas mumbled something in return, but I couldn't hear, are I was slowly slipping into a state of unconsciousness, that I was struggling to fight off.

"Vanessa!" I shouted as Nicolas wrapped his arms around me and slid me out of the car through the hole that had been my door. He lifted me up into his arms, and a familiar feeling crept over me. It felt as if we were flying, like in my dream.

Then I was laying on the back seat of some car – it had the brand new car smell. Nicolas got in the driver's seat.

"Hang in there Abigail." He whispered, before I finally gave up the fight with the blackness and let myself succumb to it.

XXX

White lights, men and women in lab coats, and Logan's and Nicolas's face floated up above whenever I could flutter my eyes open for half a second.

"Abigail, can you hear me?"

I forced my eyes open at the voice, blinking several times, as my vision was blurry. A kind looking face came into view, looking down at me. Shaggy black hair fell into his eyes, and for a moment, I thought I was Nicolas. Then his green eyes came into view, and his features were much different.

"Excellent, you're awake." He smiled, glanced down at the chart in his hands.

I was lying on a hard hospital bed in a small room – the only light came from the sun shining through the window. By the window, Nicolas stood, facing away from me. Behind the apparent doctor, Logan was dozing in a chair; Claire curled up in his lap, asleep as well.

"How are you feeling?"

I blinked at him. Really?

"Like a semi-truck hit me, then backed up over me again." I stated. "Where's Vanessa?"

"Well, your vitals are all normal, so that's good. We've kept you under sedatives to keep you relaxed, so its all right if you feel tired." He said, obvious attempting to ignore my question. I frowned.

"Let me see Vanessa." I said as he looked at the charts. The last time I had seen her, she had been a broken body with a tree sticking out of her. But the doctor just flashed a simple smile before leaving the room. I growled, reaching up to attempt to calm my aching head. Out of the corner of my eye, Nicolas adjusted his position, turning to face me.

"You know he's only trying to help." He commented, approaching the bed with the small hint of a smile.

"I hate doctors – nice or not." I replied dryly. He let out a soft laugh.

"Obviously."

"How's Vanessa?" I asked. He again shifted, this time nervously. Hesitating, he sighed.

"She died. The doctors did everything they could to save her, but the branch had pierced her lungs and she died."

My throat ran dry, and I faintly heard the heart monitor I was attached to increase its beeping as my palms became sweaty. If only I had paid attention to the roar. If only I hadn't tuned her out.

"You're lucky, you know. You only have a fractured wrist, a slight concussion, and a few cuts and bruises." He continued.

"I don't feel lucky."

"Don't blame yourself, Abigail." Nicolas said, resting his hands along the bed railing. I could practically see him reading my thoughts. "Its not your fault."

"Yes it is." I argued, turning my head away from him to hide the tears springing to my eyes. I couldn't believe my best friend was dead. I felt numb, but that was probably from the codine, and it was probably the reason the full reality hadn't settled in on me yet. "There was a guy standing in the middle of the road – I could have stopped and gone around him."

His pale hand reached over and gently brushed hair from my face, which sent the heart monitor beeping faster. "If you would have stopped that car, that guy would have killed you." He whispered so quietly, that I barely registered that he said it. "Calm down and get some sleep."

I instantly shook my head.

"How did you find the wreck so fast?" I suddenly asked.

"I was right behind you. Didn't you notice?"

"No." I stated. I knew for a fact there had been no car behind me. I was dead positive – something was up. But he obviously wasn't going to admit it.

"Who was the woman you were with?"

"What?"

"I heard a woman's voice asking if you wanted them to get…get the…get Vanessa." I whispered, struggling with the words.

"Oh, that." He said quietly. "She's my aunt."

"Your aunt?"

"Yes, it's who I'm staying with. The doctor that just came in? That's her son – my cousin Peter."

"What about your parents?"

"I think you should get some sleep. You're starting to ramble." He said suddenly instead of answering my question. I frowned, but the medication I was on was beginning to make me sleepy. Sighing, I winced as I attempted to roll over on my side.

"Two cracked ribs." He said, having apparently forgotten to mention that earlier. I groaned and pulled the blankets up over my head.

It was only a few hours later when I woke up – the medication apparently wasn't working as well as it should have.

"Abby!"

Before I could even wake up all the way, Claire was scrambling up onto the bed, her arms wrapping around my neck. I winced, hard.

"H-Hey Claire." I yawned, blinking again. Logan flashed a smile from where he sat in the chair still, this time sipping on something – I suspected coffee- in a Styrofoam cup with the hospital's name written across it. Claire settled herself on the bed between my legs and the railing, which seemed to be a better place then her previous position on my chest and ribs.

"How you feeling kiddo?" Logan asked, leaning over to move hair from my eyes. I gave a shrug and winced at the action.

"I've been better." I mumbled. He smiled for a moment, and then a pained expression came over his face.

"Your friend, Vanessa –."

"I know." I cut him off quietly. I didn't need to hear it again. He sighed and rubbed my forehead.

"I'm sorry honey."

"Its fine." I muttered, knowing full and well that it wasn't. He looked like he wanted to say something, but at that moment, the same doctor from before came in.

"Hello Abigail. How are you feeling today?" He asked in a cheery voice.

"Fine." I shrugged. He took the stethoscope from around his neck and listened to my heartbeat for a moment.

"So you're Nicolas's cousin?" I asked after a moment as he checked the machines I was hooked up to. He glanced at me with a small smile.

"Yes. But I'm only working here at the hospital as a temporary job – they're trying to find someone else since they fired the last guy."

"Well, it seems I owe your cousin a lot for saving my niece." Logan said to the doctor, who laughed.

"He's always been a hero." Peter said, replacing his pen in his pocket. "Everything checks out okay, but we want to keep you a few more days just to make sure you're all right." He said, more to me than to Logan, but he glanced at Logan to make sure this was all right – he nodded.

"Oh, and I'll see what I can do about getting you something to eat. You must be starving." He added before leaving the room. I hadn't really noticed I was hungry until he mentioned it. My stomach felt as though it were trying to eat my kidneys, with a low grumbling noise.

And then in came my hero, Nicolas, through the door.

Carrying McDonalds.

He must have seen the look on my face, because he laughed and placed one of the bags he carried on my lap, handing two over to Logan – one for him and one for Claire. I noticed he hadn't gotten any for himself, and I frowned.

"Not hungry?" I asked and he shook his head.

"I already ate." He said, watching me unwrap the hamburger he had gotten me. He was definitely my hero.

"I thought you weren't allowed to bring in outside food?" Logan inquired, watching me devour my food. Nicolas shrugged.

"Its easier when your cousin is a doctor." I pointed out, offering Nicolas a fry, which he politely declined.

After a bit, Logan took Claire out of the room, muttering something about 'bathroom' and 'coffee', leaving me alone with Nicolas again. I wondered if we could continue our earlier discussion, or do something to where I could at least find out more about him.

"You never told me about your parents." I started. He didn't look at me, but returned to his place by the window, staring out into the sun's dying rays. At first I thought he wasn't going to answer so I thought of changing the subject, but before I could, he whispered something so soft I could barely hear it.

"They're dead."

"I'm sorry." I said instantly. Death seemed to be the theme most recently. But at least he wasn't alone – my parents were dead too.

"Don't apologize – its not your fault they're dead." He said with a small shrug, turning his head a fraction of an inch to look sideways at me.

"Well still. I'm sorry they're dead."

"Its fine." By the tone of his voice, I could tell he wanted a subject change. So I tried to think of something different.

"Can I try something?" I asked suddenly, the words slipping from my mouth before I could stop them.

"Go for it." He replied.

"Come here then." I ordered. He was hesitant, but moved to stand beside my bed. Reaching over, I took his hand, like I had the day we had – attempted – to dance together. Instantly my fingertips began to tingle again, the feeling traveling up my arm.

I gasped sharply, eyes shutting -

- And when I opened them, I was standing once again under the big maple tree that I had been under last time the dream or flash or whatever it was had happened, still wearing the lacy gown. Nicolas was there too, holding my hand, a gentle smile on his face.

He didn't say anything, but pulled me into his arms, almost protectively, kissing my forehead. It was weird, but I felt safer than anything right then. I moved my hand away from his and reached to touch his face, but then –

- Then I was back lying in the hospital bed, my hand reaching out into open air toward Nicolas, who instantly backed away to the opposite end of the room, an almost angry look on his face.

"Don't do that again." He hissed so quietly that I barely heard him, his hands clenching against the windowsill so tight, that even his knuckles stood out paler than the rest of his skin, which was a first.

"S-Sorry." I stumbled over my words. _Stupid_, I mentally said to myself, frowning. It was weird that the dream, or flash, or whatever happened every time I touched him. And only when I touched him. I could touch Logan or Claire or anyone else, I reckoned, and I wouldn't have a problem.

"Its all right. But I think I should be getting back home – its my turn to make dinner." He said with one of those gentle smirks of his before he quickly left the room.

Something was definitely wrong with him.


End file.
